From the Inside
by MistyX
Summary: On a day which couldn’t be worse, Max bumps into a stranger trying to steal her bike. Never could she know that hers and the strangers paths soon would cross again... Dark Angel & XMen Wolverine Crossover!
1. Chapter I

**Title:** From the Inside

**Rating:** PG-13

**Genre:** Genereal/Action

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Max, Logan or the whole concept of Dark Angel. I own the concept of this story however, but will never officionaly own it as it is inspiration; feelings clutched into symbols on a computer.

I do not own Logan/Wolverine either, so the same goes for him and the whole conecpt of X-Men.

**Summary: **On a day which couldn't be worse, Max bumps into a stranger trying to steal her bike. Never could she know that hers and the strangers paths soon would cross again... Dark Angel/X-Men (Wolverine) Crossover!

Some time's, you had a good day.

Some time's not.

There were just some days that you wished that you never had gotten out of bed to get out to face, days you- knowing the key in hand- knew were better spent under the cover in your bed, munching on a steaming coffee.

But that didn't mean you could change them, none the less.

Max stormed out of Crash, the wind sending her hair whipping her face, but she just ignored it. She had other things on her mind than the horrible weather- she had gotten used to the typical, never changing Seattle weather by now.

After a day like this, where Normal had been on her all day as he punished her since she had overslept, she had ripped her favorite jacket, her bicycle had been stolen and she had arrived to Crash, actually having to stand in line to get some beer only to discover that they were out of it when she reached Harold, she just wanted to get home, grab a hot shower and then go to bed.

But then again, she probably couldn't sleep either, thanks to her feline hormones that were raging through her body. Another _thank you, Manticore_ was apparently in occasion.

She reached the back yard of Crash, locating where she had put her baby. But to her surprise, it wasn't alone. Some guy, with his back to her stood and probably tried to hi jack it, right in front of her. _Just what I needed_, she thought as she stopped a few feet away from the man. _A little ass kicking to get my mind off things_...

" Hey! Know that's my bike your fiddling with there!" She shouted out to him against the wind, and she was completely caught off guard as the man swirveled around, hitting her with his one arm, sending her flying back a few feet. She just stood there for a moment, flabbergasted, looking at the man, and she felt her anger rise at his nerve.

She soon realized this was no regular, thug gangster she was up against. When she'd first eyed him, she thought it was the average Joe-drinking beer-smoking-cigarettes kinda guy, just with a stocky build; but she had realized she was wrong. These were actually muscles on the guy, and although he wasn't really taller than her, he was definitely _stronger_ than her. And stronger than an X5, what was that?

He also seemed to have reflexes like her, if not even faster. He used his head just as much as she did in the fight, and she was still most perplexed by the pure strength in this guy, it, it was like fighting an animal, an animal that just wouldn't give up and roll over.

She delivered a blow with her right foot to his body in her unnatural speed, only to have it being blocked off by his lower arm and hand. He practically threw it out of his way, and it made her loose her balance to hit the ground with such power and almost no control over the leg, and it made her stumble for one or two steps.

That was all he needed.

He moved forward at her and threw his one arm around her, pinning her body against his, her back to his frame. He held his arm against her throat, and when her free arm went up to tug his arm away, she couldn't. Not even when she mustered strength and would probably have ripped it off a normal humans shoulder with the strength she used, she could move it.

 This guy, who ever he was, definitely had training. No one could take a trained X5 like that, not that easy, and just had been to the local fitness center two days a week. Perhaps he'd had military training as well?

Max was not left to ponder much more, she wanted to get loose, get out of his grip.

" Kid, what the hell of a trick were you just trying to play at me?!" Max tried to get loose again, to no avail. " Me?! It was _you_ who tried to steal _my_ bike, remember!" She could feel his lips melt into a half smile as he loosened his grip upon her, letting her go. She quickly spun around, facing him, as he answered: " Yeah, that... Well, I needed transportation."

Max took a step towards him, standing and showing off her ground. " Not with my bike you ain't getting nowhere. There's probably a heck of a lot o'more bikes around this town than mine, go get them!" The mystery man took a step forward to her, showing off _his _ground.

Max was never afraid when it came to fighting. She considered herself to be elite in that area, and it was a thing she knew she could do well. When other's went up against her, she never backed, knowing that she was perfectly capably of defending herself. But this was somehow different, she knew this guy wasn't to be messed with, and the fact that he'd just lowered her guard that easy, and taken control over the situation- and her, not to forget- was a strange sensation to her... and she didn't like it.

" Let's not forget who beat who, here, kid. Say buh-bye to your bike now, you seem spoiled enough to got and get a new one..." Max stood still for a few seconds as she watched the man approach her baby, and then she snapped. There was just no way he was getting away with her baby, here and now, not without a good fight he wasn't!

Just as he was mounting the bike, she grabbed his shoulder, hard enough to gain his attention. He swirled his head around, starting at a " Kid, what the..." but couldn't finish off since Max's hand connected with his face, his nose to be more precise. To Max's surprise, no scream, not even a guffle, was heard . Instead he mounted the bike, sat down and looked at her. 

Still infuriated, she tried grabbing his shoulder and throwing him off her baby, but all she managed was to grab him, then his other arm swirled up and grabbed hers, throwing hers of his shoulder. Normally, when facing someone with the same reflexes as her, she'd always outdone them with her strength, but this guy seemed stronger, and she couldn't quite grasp, nor accept that.

With his free hand, he started up the engine but Max wouldn't let him get away that easily. She made a mental note to forgive her bike later if anything happened to it from what she was about to do, then started. She used her cat- like speed and went down and grabbed his leg with her hands, then threw him off her bike. She knew she had surprised him and used it to her advantage. She grabbed her baby as it almost fell to the ground, hopping onto it. She revved up the engine and turned it around and pressed down the ignition as hard as she could, but the bike didn't get anywhere.

She then felt what was wrong, someone was holding the bike from behind, and she knew just who that person was. She kept on revving the engine and kept her hands on the steering wheels as she jumped out of the seat with her legs, trying desperately to kick him out of her way, but instead he grabbed her leg, pulling her towards him. Deciding she didn't want to hurt her baby no more, knowing she'd be the one to pick up the mess, she let the steering go but used her free leg to kick him, then flip into the air, doing a backwards flip off him.

She saw her bike dropping to the ground in the corner of her eye, and remembered thinking that it would leave nasty marks, marks this guy would have pay for, here and now. She could swear she could hear a snarl coming from the guy. She took a fighting stance, something the mystery man didn't do, but she could tell he was all up for fighting...

" You should've leaved when I told you, kiddo..." Max just gave a lopsided grin back. " Yeah, well I never did listen to advice especially well, so... Wanna get it on?" Although he didn't need any more encouragement he refused to charge and be the one to attack, he was going to let her do that, so he could work out her technique a bit more.  And Max, who had lost her temper completely obliged to his wish, marching towards him.

The last steps she ran towards him, beginning to hit him with such speed and force that she knew a normal human would never pass up to, but she couldn't quite reach him. He blocked all her kicks and punched, even when she upped the speed.

But just as she delivered a frightful blow to him, he ducked and jumped to the side, ending up behind her and she could feel him grabbing both of her feet, throwing her into the air, swiveling around. She could see the wall coming towards her and at that speed, and with nothing to grip on all she could do was hit it, and alongside a few bricks land beneath it.

Perhaps she wasn't human, but she sure could feel pain just as well.

" Had enough?" He asked her, as she lay coughing blood in the dust of bricks. She rose, staggery, and wiped the blood from her mouth and then regained her fighting stance. She was taught never to give up a fight, and this was one of the moments when she actually thanked Manticore for her training. Her whole body was pain, and she could feel the blood wanting to rise from her lungs into her throat, but she forced the thick, warm, iron-tasting liquid down again. The pain was too much....

But it only gave her thirst for more.

She decided that dirty tricks were the only ones who would probably work, so she ran onto him with her maximum speed, delivering a kick to his throat, and hitting, making him cough and back a few steps. She used this, and tried a punch at his groin, but he was aware and quick to move away.

He rose his body up and when she threw another, sucker punch at him, he stopped it with his own hand, making them hit like that, hand to hand, knuckles to knuckles. Both could hear the cracking coming from Max's knuckles as one or two of them cracked, and she winced in pain.

It was like hitting a brick wall! Max thought as she withdrew her hand. Then again, it was like hitting a steel- floor. It didn't feel that way when hitting a normal human being, and that very not normal human being used the moment to kick out her legs from under her, making her cheek hit one of the bricks from her previous fall on the ground.

The mystery man walked her to her bike, mounted it, and started the engine. Max knew when she was beaten, and although all she wanted to do was to beat the living crap out of him, she knew she couldn't take him. At least not like this.

Before he sped away, he turned around to look at her, as if to say sorry. But he couldn't do so, he thought it was foolish of the kid to even start a fight with him, let alone to persist it, and she had to blame herself. She was a good fighter though, he hadn't expected all that power from that petite form.

" Who are you?" Max asked, trying to get up. He half smiled at her, revving up the engine and replied, before speeding off into the night: " I'm nobody..."

**A/N:** Drop a review will ya, any opinion is valid!


	2. Response to Feedback

**This whole thing is written as a response to the feedback I get to the first chapter of FROM THE INSIDE, as I noticed I angered a few fans by making Wolverine the stronger one when it came to the fighting. **(For those of you that really were angered with that, I suggest you read the first response below)****

**If you don't see your name, don't worry- I'll add you as soon as I get your review :)**

**Job0485-** First of all, thanks for the feedback. Whatever the criticism are, I appreciate them.

I want to tell you, that one of the main reasons why I even wrote this story, was actually ME being ticked off. I've read some other crossover where Wolverine's been in them, and a fight between him and an X5 has taken place- and they all irritated me to verge that I just knew I had to do something.

You say, that Max has been specifically designed to be a perfect soldier, and I can't help but notice the resentment towards me, and not to mention towards Wolverine. Then I counter you- do you know anything about Wolverine at all?

Max had the training years in her youth, she was even breed to be a perfected soldier. She usually had the upper hand in every fight due to all this, but Wolverine? First off, the guys more than150 years old. In at least 130 of these he's been an active soldier, a fighter above everyone else, due to his Mutant abilities. He's also had serious government training, been enhanced thanks to the government but perhaps mostly of all; he's been a soldier way longer than Max, and than Max ever will be. (Thanks to Wolverine's healing factor, he's probably gonna live at least 200 years more)

In the Marvel Universe (which I kinda entered into the Dark Angel one by writing this fic) Wolverine's been up against almost any character you can find there. And never, not once, has he come out of the fight beaten, never. He's always been the one to win, and more times than one it's been acknowledged and established that he's the best fighter in the world. Literally.

So when you sum all this up, then Max (or any other X series for that matter) really doesn't have much against him. This fic, amongst other things, was and is a wake up call for those crossing Dark Angels Universe with Marvel's- I want them to realize the strength that characterizes Logan.

I know what I'm doing, know what I'm comparing. I'm aware this has angered some fans out there, dedicated to Max and perhaps her alone, so I know this is a territory which I should be cautious to mess around in...

I've been following this guy for 15 years now, learning him. I followed Dark Angel when it ran (actually still am thanks to the wonderful thing called DVD), read every book, as many fanfics as I could, getting to know Max and all of the other lovely characters.

As I said before, putting Max and Wolverine in a cage together- Max wouldn't last more than a couple of minutes. I'm sorry guys, but this is the truth...

**Willow98002-** Continue reading, you'll see that baby again ;) And yes, I'm still writing this! (Although I'm not sure where it'll end! LOL)

**Anon**- Well, just in fight standards, Wolverine's got the upper hand. But like above, you'll see the baby again!

**Meredith-** She does have some things against him, I'll admit that... You'll just have to wait and see :)

**Tyna**- Thanks for all the feedback! It's great to find another Wolverine fan who also opts that he's on the upper hand. And yes, if my memory isn't failing me, he's the one who tripped Quicksilver due to his scent. Thanks for the suggestion, I think I'll add something along those lines to the story... keep reading, and reviewing! :)

**Jane-** I know, I don't like it when Max is inferior to Alec, either. In Fugheddaboutit, we saw that even though Alec perhaps didn't lay out as strongly as he could've, Max still won. So I'm all with you on that. And I'm glad I enlightened you some on Wolverine. It's not that I want to make Max inferior to male character's in general (Hey, Max kicks some serious ass, and she'll always be one of my 3 favorite femme fatales- or whatever it's called LOL)  Regarding the age's of the transgenic's, of course I don't know how long they'll live, but regarding from everything we know, nothing speaks in favor of her getting that old. Perhaps she'll live to be a 100, but Wolverine has looked the same now for the last 100 years, at least... Thanks for the feedback, anyways!

**Smee-** I think that nothing could be more wrong than what you wrote about the training. He **does** remember the training, just not his life before it. And if we even say that his mind doesn't remember the training, is muscles does. A person that's taken Kung Fu classes and then falls into a coma and wakes up a few years after it, still remember the moves. And the thing you said about Beast kicking his ass just shows how little you really know about him, since it's been shown in a few episodes during training simulations or other circumstances when they've fought, that Wolverine's beaten him. Beast is bigger and fast as heck- but when Wolverine is actually faster than Quicksilver (Magneto's son, has the speed of quicksilver) it shows that the man's really, really fast... He doesn't need his claws to fight, they're just an additional weapon. Of course he gets hurt in battle, although very seldom, but thanks to his healing abilities he doesn't take much damage. My guess, it sounds like you've only seen the movie to me. There, Wolverine's not the same as in the comics, and my Wolverine which I'm adding to this story, is the one I know from the comic books- the same one that would kick Max's ass from here to next Thursday.

**Claire-** Thanks for the feedback, I'll try to add the next chapter in a few days, preferably next to the weekend.

**Ang1**- Thanks for the review, and I do agree- that's what makes him _him_...  and that's one of the reasons we love him ;)


	3. Chapter II

First of,** and this is directed to A L L that read this story, ** I want to say that I'm glad that there's so much people out there that care so much about Dark Angel, and are willing to protect Max to that extent, it's really great to see. Loyal and such passionate fans are always a pleasure to see!

This fic seems to have created different effects from different readers- some were irritated, frustrated, and some loved what I wrote. I'm actually extremely happy to see that I've raised so many opinions, and you should all know that no matter what they are, they're all valid to me, so thanks for reviewing!

One reason why I wrote this fic, what probably ticked me off enough to begin to write something I'd planned for a time, was the Crossover fics with Wolverine in them that I found here on ff.net. In them all, in which Max occurred, she always seemed to have the upper hand in everything when it came down to comparing the characters- and knowing them both as well as I do I couldn't keep away from the keyboard for much longer...

So I sat down, wrote From the Inside (am still doing actually) in a way, just not for this reason, to show people that when it comes down to the fighting, Wolverine's the better one. I'm not to defend him in thousands of responds anymore. I know it, and if you would've put those characters in a fight together, as Wolverine is in his comic book world and Max in her own usual ass kicking self, then he **would **win.

Hate me. Agree with me. Just know that my opinion stays valid, and stays true to my cause. If you don't like it, don't read- it's as simple as that!

**BUT**, for all of you who loves Max- as do I- her good qualities will be lifted out as well. Like I've said before, Max is one of my 3 favorite femme fatales in my whole character world, and that'll never change. I just want to put things to an order, here... Wolverine isn't the center of the story, but neither is Max.

**A note on the** **PAIRING**:  This chapter may seem a bit M/L, but I want you all to know what I'm just trying to portray every character and their feelings. There's no certain pairing yet, that's still to decide... Please, tell me if you prefer **M/A** _or_ **M/L**!

Now, I'll stop the rambling and let those of you who still want to, read... :)

**Williow98002-** Thanks for the kind things you said, I just wish that more people could relate the way you do!

**Chapter 2   **

There was only one place she could go.

This late, this beaten up, there was only one person who she knew could help her, without asking the wrong questions.

She just hoped she wasn't bloodying down his elevator.

She looked at her watch as she entered the apartment, having picked the lock to get in. It was past twelve a.m, which meant Logan was most definitely still up, fighting his crusade. She wanted to find him without having to shout out his name, so she searched his computer room, kitchen, living room- but found nothing.

She staggered on to his bedroom, thinking that there actually was a small chance he actually was sleeping, he'd confessed to her about being tired the day before and perhaps he was catching up. And for one of her guesses that night, she was right.

As she peeked into his bedroom she saw him lying there on his bed, sprawled out between all those blankets. The dim moonlight illuminated his face, and she couldn't help but smile at seeing him so peaceful. They had been through a lot together, and the time's she had seen him this relaxed were few, too few for his own sake.

She decided she would have to take care of herself alone, so she went into his bathroom, rummaging through his closet there to find some first aid, or something to clean her wounds with. She didn't find much, but it would have to be enough.

She stood up before the mirror, to check herself.

She looked like a mess.

Her whole left cheek was scraped, and bruised just at the side of the eye. She didn't worry much about that, it would most likely be gone in a day, perhaps two at most.

Her hair was all grey and dirty, and looked like a birds nest. Her jacket was more or less also scraped to in-recognition, her jeans as well and her goddamn hand just wouldn't stop hurting!  As she looked at it,  and felt about it with the other hand she could decide it to be a broken index and middle finger, and probably a crushed knuckle as well.

As she started to clean her scraped knee, removing small parts of bricks from it, she thought about the man who had just given her the beating of her life. He couldn't be completely human, not with that strength and speed. And his fighting techniques were a mix of everything she'd ever seen. It seemed to be heavenly influenced from the ninja movies she'd watched many years ago back in L.A, but there was at the same time this animal bruteness to all of it. The guy knew what he was doing, anyways.

When she'd fought him she had pondered if he was a government soldier, but with the things he did and the fighting he used, she knew he wasn't. He just didn't seem enough much of government to her.

And what was up with his hand?! It truly had been like hitting concrete steel, a wall that couldn't be broken through. She'd fought other strong X5's, but none compared to that. Could he be one of Manticore's new projects? But then his mission would have been to capture her, which he didn't do... It just didn't make sense.

She would have to tell Logan about it in the morning, hearing what he'd have to say about it. He didn't know any more about Manticore than she, but perhaps he would be able to dig up some info. Not that there was much to go on, really, but perhaps something.. Perhaps a hover drone had caught him speeding away, she thought as she finished cleaning her face.

" Max?" She turned around, to find a newly awake Logan standing in the door opening. He was still dazed with sleep, and had just pulled on a pair of soft pants and still wore the t-shirt she'd seen him sleep in. If possible, his hair was even spikier than usual, and his clear blue eyes were still thick with sleep.

" Hey. I just thought I could borrow some of you first aid, and I didn't want to wake you up, so..." He yawned, apparently what she was saying didn't hit home just yet. " I keep my first aid out in the exercise room, here's just moderate things... Max, wait, what do you need first aid for?"

It was then he truly awakened, and opened his eyes and actually _saw_ with them. He was horrified by the sight before him, he could never remember her to be this beaten up!

 " God, Max, what's happened?" He rushed to her side, willing to help her but she was reluctant to get any. She could do this herself.

" I ran into this guy... Tried to steal my bike, I tried to defend it, I lost, end of story... Could I please borrow some of your first aid?" He looked at her from top 'til toe, and saw her hand, which she held out of view from him, probably on purpose. " Sure, if you let me see your hand first..." She pulled back, replying that she was fine, but Logan was persistent.

He reached out and grabbed her hand and looked at it, determing the same as she had minutes ago. He let it go, but looked at her, before she exited the bathroom, not being able to take the close proximity between them. Logan followed her to his exercise room, where he quickly grabbed the first aid. He packed up some things for her knee and hand, then turned to her.

" Max... Who exactly was this guy?" Max shrugged. " I asked the same thing, " she said as she removed her jacket, " but he told me he was nobody." Logan approached her, starting to fix her up. " Doesn't seem like no one to me, to be able to beat you like this... was he Manticore?"

Max shook her head, finding that her neck hurt severely while she did so. Logan saw this, but said nothing. " I don't think so... He didn't seem to work for anyone, all I know is he kicked the crap out of me..." He reached for the adhesive tape, then her hand to tape her fingers together, and she didn't stop him. He affection ally patched her whole hand up under silence, not sure he wanted to press the matter further.

Half an hour later, all he wounds were attended to, and he'd heated some food and given her, which she'd swallowed down rather quickly. He finished putting away the dishes when he told her: " You're welcome to use the guest room, you know." When he returned to where she'd sat to eat, she wasn't there. Not in the bathroom, nor the quest room. He even peeked inside his own bedroom, but they all were empty.

He wandered into the living room, and there he found her, sleeping on the sofa. She seemed at peace and fast asleep, and he knew she needed the rest. When she actually fell asleep, it was always proving that she really was tired. He smiled at her, and went over to pull the sheet over her petite form.

Thinking she really had to be tired and in some pain- although she tried to hide it behind the tough-ass attitude of hers- he let his fingers stroke her healthy cheek, then exited the room, leaving her to her dreams, smiling as he did so.

**A/N:** A note on the **PAIRING**:  This chapter may seem a bit M/L, but I want you all to know what I'm just trying to portray every character and their feelings. There's no certain pairing yet, that's still to decide... Please, tell me if you prefer **M/A** _or_ **M/L**! And don't forget the review, kay? ;)


	4. Chapter III

**Title:** From the Inside

**Rating:** PG-13

**Genre:** Genereal/Action

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Max, Logan or the whole concept of Dark Angel. I own the concept of this story however, but will never officionaly own it as it is inspiration; feelings clutched into symbols on a computer.

I do not own Logan/Wolverine either, so the same goes for him and the whole conecpt of X-Men.

**Summary: **On a day which couldn't be worse, Max bumps into a stranger trying to steal her bike. Never could she know that hers and the strangers paths soon would cross again... Dark Angel/X-Men (Wolverine) Crossover!

-

-

"Cage fighting? Have you totally lost your mind, Alec?!" Max slapped the back of his head, and he winced and grinned at the same time. He closed his locker, and then started to walk out of Jam Pony, with Max and Original Cindy following him.

"It's for the money, Max, you of all people should know what it feels like to do some things that aren't entirely legal for money? "He had her there, and she looked away for a moment, continuing to follow him out into the street. He stopped at his back, which stood next to hers, and she removed it so that he could get his.

" Besides, "he continued, "it's in this dark, psycho, smoke-filled club not more than 8 blocks or so from here... it's not a fancy thing where rich people just throw their money around, it's regular cats, some with more money than others..." Max glared at him, as she watched him mount his bike. "Come cheer for me?" He asked, grinning like the idiot Max thought he was, at least at the moment.

"Boo, we'll come. Now go home n'prepare yaself, 'kay?" Original Cindy told him, and both girls watched him speed away into the buzz of the street. Max and Original Cindy both mounted their own bikes, and Max couldn't help but shake her head, not being able to let the matter of Alec and cage fighting go.

"I just think it's the stupidest thing, ever, Cindy..." Original Cindy smiled, quickly steering her bike away from some little kid and his toy. "Boo, what can go wrong? He's sure to win and he'll make money from it... Plus, you can always enjoy the beating he's gonna take, wishing it was you who hit him..." Max smiled and laughed at that thought.

Some time's it was good having friends...

-

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the extreme shortness of this chapter, as well as the lack of update. It's all due to some computer problems, but the next chapter is promised to be longer!


	5. Chapter IV

**Title:** From the Inside

**Rating:** PG-13

**Genre:** Genereal/Action

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Max, Logan or the whole concept of Dark Angel. I own the concept of this story however, but will never officionaly own it as it is inspiration; feelings clutched into symbols on a computer.

I do not own Logan/Wolverine either, so the same goes for him and the whole concept of X-Men.

**Summary: **On a day which couldn't be worse, Max bumps into a stranger trying to steal her bike. Never could she know that hers and the strangers paths soon would cross again... Dark Angel/X-Men (Wolverine) Crossover!

-

" Where's the fool at? And have they started?" Max looked at the board, ignoring the looks some of the beasteous looking men were giving her and Cindy in here. She came to make sure Alec didn't mess up in any way, plus getting some satisfaction in watching him get a hit or two, somewhat of a payment of everything he had done to screw her life up since she had escaped Manticore a second time.

" Well, according to this Alec's fought one match already, which he won. If he keeps going like I think he will, he'll go to the final... and the other finalist is already chosen, some turd who calls himself " Wolverine". What's with the stage names, anyways?"

Original Cindy shrugged her shoulders, as they started to walk to get seats closer to the cage. As they walked by, one of the guys in it got thrown into the net, with girls waiting on the other side of the net. While Original Cindy jumped, Max didn't even flinch.

" Probably just stupid men needin' to express themselves or something... Disgusting any way you think of it!" Max smiled, and sat down in a seat she found. To both her and Cindy's surprise it was Alec who was in the cage, and had thrown the man into the net. Even more surprisingly, the man started against him again, and with one knock from a nasty left- hook of Alec's, that man got a safe trip to un-conscious land.

" I think da fool's getting warmed up, now..."

The girls shared a smile.

It continued on like this for the next 45 minutes, Alec staying in the cage and taking down man after man that dared challenge him. Not one of them got a punch onto him, much to Max's dismay. She kept praying for at least one, but her prayers weren't answered.

But they were to be.

As the speaker announced that the finals were coming up, Cindy returned with a drink for Max and her. Cindy sat down, sipping her little apple martini, looking around herself.

" What's the speaker saying?" Max clunked down some beer, then answered. " It's Alec in the finals up against that Wolverine guy. Perhaps that guy can get at least _one_ shot in at him..." Cindy smirked.

" Well, if da fool is holding up like he's been doing now, I wouldn't hope fo' much..."

"... and entering the cage we have the so-far, never beaten WOLVERINE!" the speaker announced as the crowd went wild. Max would've never guess that such a small crowd could make such noise, but she was now convinced, and shown, that they in fact could. But what she saw almost made her jaw drop.

In the cage, standing only a few feet from Alec, was the mystery man from the night before! He obviously called himself the Wolverine, and Max actually found the name, although a bit stupid, fitting. His character, poisture and the way he fought were indeed similar to one...

But she had to warn Alec!

" Whoa, Boo, where ya going?" She turned around to Cindy, giving her a quick explanation.

" That's the man from yesterday night, who beat me up! I gotta warn Alec..." To which Cindy quickly responded: " Damn, girl, I though you wanted him to get beaten some ass!" Max shook her head. " Cindy, you can see what he did to me. If he wants to, he could _kill _Alec..." And with that, she ran over to the cage. Cindy drank in some more of her apple martini, actually feeling a bit worried for the shirtless fool in the cage.

" Alec! Alec!" Max shouted over the noise. She actually got his attention, and he hunched down to her level, giving her a moment. " Max, I'm kinda in the middle of something..."

Max felt like hitting him, and the only thing keeping her from doing so was the net in between them. " No, Alec, that's the guy from yesterday! Who seriously beat my ass! He did that to me, imagine what he could do to you!"

Alec half grinned.

When she'd mentioned that he was the guy from yesterday, he'd looked serious, but Max wasn't sure how to read him. But when he turned his gaze towards the man a few feet away, Max was sure she saw some worry, although greatly hidden, in his face.

" That short guy? You must be getting weak or something, Max...." Max grabbed his shorts in between the net, and held him there for a moment more.

" Alec, don't do this... Take a dive." Alec shook his head, as he felt the ring leader a.k.a speaker pull at him and said a quiet:

" I've had 10 years more of training than you. No, I'm gonna kick the living crap out of his ass" to her.

She shook her head, wishing he wasn't such a fool. Or perhaps he wasn't?

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**A/N:** Any kind of review would be nice, bub :)


	6. Chapter V

**Title:** From the Inside 

**Rating:** PG-13 (I refuse to bow myself for the new system :p )

**Genre:** Genereal/Action

**Summary: **On a day which couldn't be worse, Max bumps into a stranger trying to steal her bike. Never could she know that hers and the strangers paths soon would cross again... Dark Angel/X-Men (Wolverine) Crossover!

**Disclaimer:** I am _so sorry_ guys for the waaay too long overhaul of not updating. I browsed through my old stories the other day and I realized that I had just stopped updating this story, without even knowing why, since I had additional chapters waiting. But then I remember my computer crashing down on me, and that I just never got to it after that.

So, without further adue or excuses, here's the next chapter… the fight between Wolvie and Alec ;)

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" Hey there, y'can talk with your little missy later, ok? Now it's fight time!"

The speaker glared at Alec, and he shook his head. He straightened himself, taking in the man before him. He wasn't tall, but he was nothing but pure muscles. Sure, some of the guys he had beaten before also were well built- but these look like actual, real muscles. He had something about him that reminded Alec of an animal, and he found his nickname in here fitting.

" He ain't gonna dive, ain't he?" Cindy asked as Max sat down next to her. " No, he's a fool and he'll remain so. I just hope he survives this..." Cindy wanted to reply, but couldn't as the speaker announced that the fight began, and the sound of ringing clocks belled in her ears.

Wolverine had watched the kid fight since one of his first matches here, and he had to hand it to the kid, that he was good. He seemed to have military training, much as well, since he fought so well. There seemed to be some superhuman strength in there as well, but Wolverine didn't worry. He gave this two minutes, at tops. And then he'd be playing around with him...

Alec started the fight with approaching him with a quick punch from this nasty left hook. Wolverine easily blocked it away, and as Alec backed a few steps to regain composure, he decided to use his speed and strength at the same time, so he approached again, using both arms, and one leg.

This time, the Wolverine didn't block them off, instead he only stood rather still and took the blows. Alec had time to think that hitting the guy was like hitting steel, a brick wall, but didn't let that stop him. He decided to go fast and furious on him, and take him down and use that he would get tired, which would slow down his reflexes.

He went on him, delivering kicks and blows at him but the man only took them all, blow after blow. Max, sitting in the audience actually thought for a moment that Alec might be able to take this guy, but she couldn't help but wonder why Wolverine wasn't doing anything. He was just standing there. But then she remembered her training, and what Wolverine was doing to Alec- he was making Alec tired...

After a few moments of punching more, Wolverine decided that it had to end now. When Alec threw an extremely powerful blow, meant to take Wolverine out, he just rose, and did the same thing to Alec as he had done to Max the night before. He met him dead on, knuckle to knuckle, and Max winced herself, as she saw the pain written in Alec's face when their knuckles connected.

Alec withdrew his hand immediately, shaking it. It hurt like hell, but he had to ignore it. He wasn't going down that easily and wasn't helpless just because he couldn't use on of his hands. But as he swirled around and lifted his leg to kick him in the head, Wolverine just intercepted it, grabbed the leg, and threw him into the net. When Alec rose, he was there, and Alec tried to punch him, but he just threw his hand and arm away, and instead Wolverine hit Alec's face with a blow of his own, making Alec go down to the floor, again.

Alec winced in pain, thinking in his blurry world that his guy knew precisely where to hit. His vision was blurry, and Wolverine moved with great speed and elbowed him in the back, making Alec's rise impossible. Alec grunted out his pain, thinking this was enough, and rose to his feet as Wolverine gave him space to do so.

Alec charged at him after spitting out some blood on the cage floor, and furiously began hitting with his well hand, and kicking with his legs. But after a few seconds it looked like Wolverine got tired of the games, and then when Alec tried to spin around and hit him in the neck, Wolverine was already there, grabbing his arm, twisting it, and after mumbling a "sorry, kid"… Alec's world would go black.

Wolverine held his arm, twisted it and made sure he strained the kids elbow and then at the same time as he kicked his legs out from underneath him, he sucker punched him at the temple, which sent the kid off to the land of the unconscious.

"... and the winner by knockout, the WOLVERINE!"

Max and Original Cindy rushed over to the cage, to collect their unconscious friend. Max looked at Wolverine when they called his name and announced him winner- he didn't look happy, actually. Like this wasn't something he was proud of, more of like just something he _had_ to do.

Max could relate to that, she didn't always like to fight but when it required to, she did because she had to. But she had always thought that cage fights were ludicrous, and Alec's beat down just showed she was right. She made a mental note about reminding the unconscious X-5 of that...

Some of the people working there dragged Alec to the side, where Max and Original Cindy announced themselves as friends of his, and they were here to take him home. The people nodded, and went away. But Max could feel Wolverine coming towards them, probably to brag. She sighed, and prepared herself for something snide, but nothing like that came.

It was like he also recognized her, like she had done hours ago, and he stopped dead in his tracks, but said nothing. They locked eyes for a couple of moments, but both were too proud to say something, and even if they weren't, either could think of what to say.

Wolverine walked over, and bent down besides them. Max wanted to shove him away from them, but something about his stance told her that he wasn't her to pick another fight. " Is your boyfriend OK?" he asked Max, and Original Cindy had to stifle a laugh.

" He's not my boyfriend, " Max answered, " and he's gonna be OK. What's it to you?" Wolverine gave a half laugh, then grabbed Alec's front part of the body, and helped Max carry him out of the cage.

Max picked up her cell phone and dialed Logan's number, and he answered after only one or two rings. " Hey, Logan it's me, " she started, and continued with asking if he could pick them up, there was no way she would get him onto her bicycle… They could place him in Logan's car, and perhaps even patch him up at his apartment. Luckily, Logan obliged, saying he'd be there in fifteen minutes.

But Max hadn't missed Wolverine's twitch when she had said Logan's name. But she made nothing of it.

Max looked at Wolverine, crossing her arms after putting down her cell. " A friend of mine will pick us up. Why don't you go collect your prize or something?" Wolverine raised an eye- brow at her, thinking that the kid sure was cocky, even to someone who'd he thought had brought her ass down to earth. Apparently, she still soared in the sky. High from painkillers, maybe.

" I think I'll do that..." and with that, he started to walk away, but Max wanted more from him. What, she wasn't sure, but at least a name would be sufficient. " Hey, I never got your name?" She shouted after him, and he turned, walked back and offered his hand to her. Not something any other enemy- although she wasn't sure if he was that or not- would have done to her.

" Name's Logan. What's yours, kiddo?" Max still didn't like that he called her 'kid', but she decided to ignore it for the moment. Once he knew her name, he would hopefully stop.

" Mine's Max, " she introduced herself, shaking his hand with a sturdy grip. She couldn't help but shake an inner laugh from herself, now she knew two Logan's, both funny men, hard to understand.

His hand felt a bit odd to her, someone that just had been in a fight like that and probably many like it, would normally have seriously damaged hands, bloody or at least marks and scars. But his hands felt like he hadn't done a days labor in his life, and this struck her as odd. They felt unnaturally hard as well, and it definitely had something to do with the hardness she had experienced form hitting it the night before, and that her crushed hand kept reminding her of.

" Well, good to know your name Max. Perhaps I'll see you around some day..." And with that, he walked away into the crowd, to collect his prize.

He couldn't quite figure her out, what she was. Was she a mutant, like him? Or was she just someone who had some seriously bad assed training? But she seemed young, and a strength like that wasn't normal for a person her age, or stature for that matter. He'd heard about breeding programs, where they bred the perfect soldiers, and maybe she was one of those. But then she had to have escaped, because he knew for sure they didn't let their soldiers out in the open just like that...

Thinking of all this with breeding programs, involuntary got him to think of his own involvement with the government, and their secret programs. They were the ones to have given him his adamantium skeleton, and even some of his training attributes. He would never thank them for it, because it came with a high prize, and the loss of knowing everything about his past- so he didn't really know who he was.

Imagine that.

Not being able to celebrate birthdays, because you didn't know when you were born. Not being to tell people your last name, because you honestly didn't know what it was. Not even being sure what your surname was. Always having this instinct, this crave for knowing who you were, because all you knew was who you were now, at the moment and a limited series of years back. Not being sure of anything...

But he had gotten used to it, no matter how much he hated it.

" What was that all about?" Original Cindy asked, waking Max up from her thoughts as she looked down at the badly beaten Alec, and waited for Logan who would be here any minute now. She shrugged her shoulders, as she felt her pager go off, which meant that Logan was here. " I don't know... Logan's, well_ my_ Logan, is waiting outside. Help me carry, will ya?" Original Cindy grabbed Alec's legs as they started to walk outside, but couldn't keep her mouth shut for much longer about what Max had just said.

" _Your_ Logan?" Max looked at her, wanting to nudge her shoulder. " He's not my- you know what I mean!" Original Cindy laughed, and Max couldn't help but smile along, as they carried Alec out to the car, and drove home to Logan's.

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**A/N:** Do as you will with the revies... but for old times sake, eh? 


	7. Chapter VI

**Author's Note:** Yeah, I decided to drop the whole " Title, Genre bla bla bla" stuff since I realized that nobody most likely ever read it... and that it didn't make much of a difference anyways. So here you go, a brand new chappie...

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After Max had patched him up with the help of Original Cindy, she sat down in the chair next to Logan's medical table. Original Cindy had gone home after assuring that they could take care of the rest, needing her beauty sleep and all, as Max had pointed out. She had obliged, wanting Max to have some quality time with Logan- though under strange circumstances- knowing they hadn't been able to share some of that in a while, with all the things that went down in their lives.

She pondered over Logan, formerly known to her as Wolverine, and before that, she had referred to him as mystery man. There was something about him oozing a crave to know more about him from Max, like an instinct feeling that they had more in common than what she knew at first sight.

He also seemed to have had some government training, like her. But his style was way too influenced by many other, and various and unlike, techniques that she could narrow it down. To be honest, she'd never seen a better fighter than him, he learned his opponents in little time and took advantage of that knowledge to the limit, using the weaknesses and strengths and turned them against his opponents.

At a first look, she would've guessed he wasn't much older than her Logan, but when she had looked into his eyes, she knew that wasn't the case. He was much older, at least twice as older than that. He was a odd fellow, no doubt about that.

And yet again the cleanness of his appearance fiddled her. A man like that, that had un-doubtedly been in many fights and quarrels, would usually have the evidence markings written all over their face, and body. But he was completely clean, like he'd never seen any toughness in his life. But yet again, his eyes told her that he had, perhaps even more than she'd ever see.

" Who did this to him?" Logan asked, entering the small space. He leaned against one of the rice paper walls, folding his arms in front of him. Max bent over and felt Alec's pulse again, which was normal, and retrieved her hand. " Same guy that kicked my ass..." Logan's face rose by this, he wanted to know more about this, apparently, powerful man.

" Can you tell me all you know about him? Perhaps I can dig something up... It's gonna take a while for Alec to wake anyway..." Max nodded and followed Logan over to his computers. There, she gave Logan all the info she knew about this Logan (even her Logan had to smile at the, according to him, flattering name connection) and any details she remembered about him. Her Logan didn't find much in the public records, truth was, that he wasn't even listed. Well, not from the info they had to go from.

" Perhaps there was a hover drone when he stole my bike? Perhaps it caught a glimpse of his face..." Logan shook his shoulders, deciding it was worth a shot, and began hacking into the police's files about the hover drone's, and the surveillance footage they stored in their mainframe's.

But while doing this, they didn't know they were being watched.

From a rooftop across Fogle Towers, Logan stood watching them. He had followed them when they had left the club, and he'd ended up here. Thinking it was weird for a rough kid like Max to have friends with pocket's like a Fogle Towers resident had to have, he didn't know what to make of the kid.

He could see them from where he stood, where the man sat behind a computer, Max standing behind him, leaning over the desk. Logan couldn't possibly see what they were working on, but he could imagine that if the guy's place was as high tech as it appeared, and they had the other kid whose ass he'd just beaten- he knew they were looking him up.

But he also knew that they wouldn't find much.

The government had seized all knowledge of his existence, and there were next to nothing to be found about him in their computers. Even if the guy could hack into their system, he wouldn't find anything. Perhaps if he broke all of Weapon X's computers, but Logan doubted that they guy was good enough to do that and even if he was, their computers were even harder than Pentagon's to reach into.

Besides, there was nothing connecting him with Weapon X out there to be found, other than the people who knew he'd been a part of it, and himself of course. So, any chance of them finding any info about him at all was very minimum.

But he had to quit this _now_... before anyone else got hurt.

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End file.
